The Gauhati High Court has declined the bail request of all nine individuals, which includes the former Bajali Superintendent of Police, Sidhartha Buragohain. They were arrested due to their alleged involvement in an extortion case.

On Thursday, Justice Ajit Borthakur, having considered the bail applications of the accused, dismissed their request and ordered that they remain in judicial custody.

In addition to Buragohain, those who were arrested include the former Additional SP Gayatri Sonowal, her husband Subhas Chander, former DSP Puskal Gogoi, as well as policemen Debajit Giri, Sasanka Das, Deepjyoti Kalita, and Nabir Ahmed, along with informant Iswar Chand Baruah.

The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) had filed a case under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to charges such as criminal conspiracy, extortion, criminal intimidation, wrongful confinement, trespassing, causing harm, and attempted murder, among others. These charges were applied to all the accused police officials and two drivers involved in the case.

The arrests took place on September 1st of this year, in response to a complaint received. The complaint alleged that the police personnel, who were all stationed in Bajali at the time, had demanded money from individuals engaged in illegal Burmese areca nut smuggling during the first week of August.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Corruption initially attempted to set a trap for the policemen. However, when this plan did not succeed, the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) conducted an investigation into the matter. After confirming the veracity of the allegations, they proceeded to register a case against the accused individuals.